


Snapshots

by energie_vie



Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Crack, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Love, Mild Language, Post-Movie: The Old Guard (2020), Random & Short, Romance, Snippets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 12,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27817846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/energie_vie/pseuds/energie_vie
Summary: Random snippets of Nile and Booker's relationship.
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre/Nile Freeman
Comments: 68
Kudos: 111





	1. The one at the amusement park

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is me deciding to have everything in one place. All these short fics have been posted on Tumblr, but I thought I'd add them here too.
> 
> I've chosen to go with a multichapter fic, though the only connection between the chapters is that they're all part of the same "universe" as the [Magnetic](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987831) and [Gooey](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983568) series.
> 
> And that's about it. I'll keep adding as the muse allows it.
> 
> LE: decided to name the chapters, so credit where credit is due, meaning _Friends_ , whose episode titles had this format and I think it's really cool.

'Uuh, let's ride that swingy-thingy!' Nile bounces up and down enthusiastically, pointing at some death contraption that no one in their right mind would get into voluntarily.

'Um, how about we don't and say we did?' Booker suggests cheekily.

'Right, I forgot you're afraid of heights.'

'I've told you, I'm not afraid of heights. I just don't like them.'

'I see you're still in denial,' Nile mutters sardonically, rolling her eyes. 'What if I held your hand throughout?'

'Yeeeah, it's not gonna work this time, but nice try.'

'Fine,' she huffs in annoyance, 'bumper cars it is, then.'

She spends the entire three minutes forcefully ramming her car into his, just to see him jolting and lurching around helplessly. Ah, sweet vindication!


	2. The one with an annoyed Andy

**Andy, huffing annoyedly:** I wish I could say I miss how you two were before you got together but in reality it was just as bad. The only difference is that back then the unresolved tension was nauseating and now you're all over each other at any given moment!

 **Booker and Nile, tangled together on the couch, interrupted from whispering and giggling:** Huh?

 **Andy, throwing her hands in the air and stomping out of the room:** I give up!


	3. The one with cigarettes and chess

'Darling, have you seen my cigarettes?' Booker shouts from somewhere inside the apartment, breaking Nile's concentration.

'Right breast pocket of your blue jacket,' she promptly responds, moving one of her pawns to protect her knight and Nicky scowls at her. 'What?' she asks.

'Nothing,' he grumbles, frowning at the board.

Booker breezes past them and heads for the hallway, winking cheekily at Nile which makes her giggle girlishly.

'Hey, focus!' Nicky says, snapping his fingers in front of her face and then moving his rook.

'I am!'

'They're not here,' comes Booker's voice from the hallway and Nile could bet the outcome of this match that he's pouting just a little.

'Right pocket, not left,' she calls back and then moves her bishop. 'Check!' she grins and Nicky curses under his breath in a language Nile can't really identify.

'Found them!' Booker announces triumphantly and Nile smiles, moving her queen.

'Check!'

'Are you kidding me?' Nicky's eyes widen in disbelief.

'Um, I can't find my lighter,' Booker whines and Nile giggles again.

'There are matches in the kitchen, you know,' Nicky barks, moving his king to a safe square.

'But I want _my_ lighter,' he says childishly.

'Top drawer of my nightstand,' Nile says casually, moving her bishop again. 'Check!'

Nicky huffs annoyedly. 'You're spoiling him!' he says, pointing his index finger at her and Nile laughs heartily.

'How, by remembering what he forgets?'

'He's not even _trying_ to remember,' Nicky whines and Nile wonders what is it with the guys around her and their toddler-like behaviour.

'Just make a move already,' she says, rolling her eyes but smiling nonetheless.

Booker returns from their bedroom, waving his lighter victoriously and stops by the couch to drop a kiss to Nile's braids.

'I don't know what I'd do without you,' he says sappily, prompting Nicky to groan. 'How's it going?' he asks, tilting his head towards the board.

'Decently,' Nile grins, moving her queen. 'Checkmate!'

'No way!' Nicky cries, studying the board intently. 'How did you-, He was-, How-', he stammers, then frowns unhappily. 'I hate you both!' he finally declares passionately.

'Hey, what did _I_ do?' Booker asks indignantly.

'I don't know, buy you two come as a package,' he huffs, getting up from the couch and stomping towards the kitchen.

'Sore loser!' Booker calls at his retreating back, only to be presented with a middle finger. 'Wanna play?' he turns towards Nile, grinning cheekily.

'Winner gets a massage?' she grins back.

'You're on!'


	4. The one with the rollerblades

'Ok, for the sake of efficiency, I go get the olive oil and the detergent, you go get the batteries.' Nile suggests. 'And we meet right here when we're done, ok?'

Booker nods enthusiastically, eyes slightly unfocused.

'How many coffees have you had so far?'

'Just one,' he replies, looking very indignant.

'Mhm. And energy drinks?' she narrows her eyes at him and he at least has the decency to look sheepish. 'I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that,' she says sweetly when Booker just mumbles something completely unintelligible.

'Three,' he says louder and Nile shakes her head.

'I swear you're such a kid sometimes,' she huffs. 'Now go and please try not to get sidetracked,' she says and reaches to peck him on the lips.

Five minutes later, she's balancing the oil and the detergent in one hand and the phone in the other.

_'Did you get lost?'_

No reply. They're already late because these three items had been omitted in their initial round of shopping so they had to go in the hypermarket again.

She tries calling him but of course he doesn't pick up, which means he's most likely left his phone in the car because that's where a _mobile_ phone is supposed to be, apparently, not on your person at any given moment, so she resigns herself to having to go look for him.

She's heading towards the electronics section when she catches a glimpse of light blue gliding up and down the sports aisle.

'You're never getting energy drinks again!' she threatens and the idiot glides towards her, a goofy smile on his face.

'These are awesome!' he exclaims breathlessly and Nile has to tilt her head far back to look at him because from up close he's so much taller.

She knows the look in his eyes, so she immediately says, 'We're not getting rollerblades!'

'Why not?' Booker whines and damn his puppy dog eyes that are boring into hers because she can't find a reason not to anymore.

'Did you at least get the batteries?'

'Yeap,' he says, pulling them out of his back pocket to wave them in front of her face. 'So?'

'Take them off, hold these and let me find my number,' she says, sighing dramatically.

'I love you!' he declares, crushing her as well as the oil and detergent in a bear hug.

'Yeah, yeah,' she mutters, face pressed in his chest. She knows he knows she's smiling.


	5. The one with the crêpes Suzette

'I could eat something sweet,' Joe sighs.

He's currently sprawled sideways in one of the armchairs, browsing through some random magazine. Nile lifts her head from her book and ponders for a few moments.

'I can make pancakes,' she offers, chuckling when Joe grins and nods happily.

'I'll help,' he says when she gets up from the couch and heads to the kitchen.

'No need, I'm only gonna make the batter and then it needs to rest for at least half an hour.'

'Oh, you're making _crêpes_.'

'Yeah, sorry, I call all of them pancakes. Would you prefer the fluffy ones?'

'No, no, _crêpes_ are awesome!'

One hour later, Nile feels him peak over her shoulder and then gasp.

'Are you making _crêpes Suzette_?'

'Mhm. You like them, right?'

'Did Booker teach you?' Joe gasps again, ignoring her question.

'Yeah. Why?'

'That French bastard! He's never wanted to teach either of us,' Joe mutters in pure frustration.

'You know, there's a little thing called the Internet…'

'Oh, Nicky and I have both tried various recipes and they never come out right.'

Nile giggles when he sees him pout. 'Mine might not come out right either. It's the first time I'm trying.'

Joe just grunts and crosses his arms. To her surprise and genuine delight, he moans after the first bite.

'These are amazing! And taste exactly the same as his!' he pouts again and then turns towards the front door to scowl at Booker, who's just returned from grocery shopping with Nicky.

'You son of a… How many years have we known each other?' he asks, narrowing his eyes.

'What?'

'How many years have we known each other?'

'Two hundred and thirty-four,' Booker replies, frowning in confusion. 'Why?'

'You taught Nile how to make _crêpes Suzette_ and I've been asking you for the recipe for decades. Literally!' 

Joe is getting more and more worked up, which only makes Booker laugh out loud.

'What have you got to say for yourself?' Joe demands.

'You're not my soulmate,' Booker shrugs.

'Aaaw!' Nile exclaims, jumping into his arms, legs wrapped around his waist. 'I love you so much!' she gushes before kissing him hotly.

'Is that what _we_ sound like?' Joe turns towards Nicky, looking slightly nauseous.

'All the time.'


	6. The one with the reunion at the airport

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 of BoNfire week (Book of Nile appreciation week on Tumblr).
> 
> Theme of the day: **Reunions and Revelry**
> 
> Tags: #BoNfire week #BoN fete

'Can't we go any faster?' Nile asks, anxiously tapping her fingers on her knees.

'I'm already above the speed limit,' Joe replies, rolling his eyes.

'Ok, then take a shortcut,' she suggests and Joe grunts in exasperation.

'We're going to the airport,' he enunciates slowly. 'How many options do you think we have route-wise?'

Nile just huffs impatiently and starts playing with her wedding band, taking it off and sliding it back on her ring finger. Every once in a while she lets out a distraught sigh, as if she were in actual physical pain.

'Look,' Joe says a couple of minutes later in a much softer tone. 'I know you miss him. I miss Nicky too and I can't wait to see him. But you need to have a little patience.'

'It's been two months, Joe,' she whines, cringing internally at how needy she sounds.

'I know,' Joe sighs too. 'If it makes you feel any better, the day they left on this stupid mission I bought a calendar and started crossing out the days,' he says sheepishly.

Nile snorts and then starts laughing. Yeah, she does feel a bit better.

'I held a diary,' she admits ruefully. 'A diary, Joe! Stop laughing!'

'I'm sorry.'

'No, you're not.'

'You're right, I'm not,' he says and starts laughing again. 'I'm _so_ telling Book about this.'

Nile just quirks a single eyebrow, looking completely unimpressed.

'Do you honestly think he doesn't know?'

'Fine. I'm telling Andy and Quynh then.'

'Just focus on the road,' she says, lightly punching his shoulder and jumping violently when her phone buzzes in her front pocket.

_'We've just landed, my love. I can't wait to see you!'_

'Joe, they've just landed. I swear to god, if we get there late, I'll kill you with my bare hands!'

Joe mutters something that's too quiet and probably in a language she doesn't know, so Nile ignores him and sends Booker tens of hearts of all colours.

_'Does this mean you missed me?'_

_'No, my finger slipped.'_

_'Ouch, that hurts! Heading to Customs. By the way, Nicky said I thoroughly and undeniably suck. That was a direct quote.'_

_'What did you do?'_

_'Apparently, talked about you non stop and whined like a kicked puppy. Another direct quote.'_

_'Tell Nicky he sucks more. We've just parked. See you in a few minutes, sweetheart.'_

The second Joe turns off the engine, Nile is out of the car, tapping her foot restlessly.

'I'm coming, I'm coming,' Joe mutters and they both head for Arrivals.

Nile makes her way through the throng of people, curtly apologising for elbowing a few of them and plants herself as close to the sliding doors as possible, craning her neck in all directions. She's lost Joe along the way but figures they'll regroup later.

It takes a couple more excruciating minutes of the doors intermittently opening only to reveal other passengers and then she spots Booker's blond hair no more than ten metres from her, looking anxiously in all directions.

The next seconds pass in slow motion. She literally squeals in excitement, jumping up and down and then calls his name. Booker turns to the sound of her voice, eyes drawn to hers as if by an invisible force and his face splits into a dazzling smile. They each take a couple of hurried steps and Nile launches herself at him, the force of the collision making him stagger and take a step back.

She burrows her face in his neck and he takes a deep breath, as if inhaling her scent and they're both holding on to each other tightly, completely oblivious of the rest of the world. He's so warm and she fits in his arms perfectly and god, she's never agreeing to such a long separation ever again.

'I've missed you so much!' Nile murmurs when she pulls back to look at him, crossing her arms behind his neck.

'You have no idea,' Booker sighs and then he's kissing her with all the pent-up longing of the past two months.

His lips are impossibly soft and he tastes like home and happiness and safety. Nile doesn't care that they're in the middle of a crowded terminal, probably hindering other people from getting to their loved ones and she blissfully ignores the few snarky comments directed at them.

'Where's Nicky?' she whispers when they stop to catch their breaths.

'No idea. Where's Joe?'

'No idea.'

They both chuckle and resume kissing.


	7. The one where Copley finds out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of BoNfire week (Book of Nile appreciation week on Tumblr).
> 
> Theme of the day: **WIP amnesty** (I've always wanted to show their relationship through the others' eyes, so I'll definitely come back to this one)
> 
> Tags: #BoNfire week #BoN fete

'Um, if you don't mind me asking.. when did _this_ happen?' Copley asks tentatively, gesturing towards Nile and Booker who have decided that sharing a single armchair is a very normal and grown-up thing to do.

They're also so caught up in their small little bubble of bliss that they don't seem to have heard the question. Nile is sitting in Booker's lap and he keeps whispering something in her ear that makes her giggle every couple of seconds. When she does reply, she's murmuring in a language Copley isn't sure he can identify.

'Well, the official answer is Tokyo. The unofficial is probably Lisbon,' Nicky replies.

'What do you mean, official and unofficial?'

'He means that they've been all over each other for so long that they've driven the rest of us completely insane!' Andy huffs, throwing a pillow at them that Booker deflects without looking away from Nile. 'Don't you two ever take a break? I swear, you're worse than Joe and Nicky and that's saying something.'

'Excuse you, boss, we've never been _this_ nauseating,' Joe retorts indignantly.

'Oh, I beg to differ,' Quynh interjects. 'Those first few decades after we found you.. all googly eyes and goofy smiles.'

'Yeah, but we were able to function normally around other people. These two are completely ignoring us,' Joe mutters, throwing another pillow at them.

Nile catches it with her left hand and throws it back at him. It lands squarely in his face, making everyone laugh.

'We're very much paying attention,' she says, though still busy gazing lovingly into Booker's eyes.

'Nice throw, my love,' he winks, then carries on in something that sounds like the bastard child of French and Italian. Nile snorts, replying in the same language and then leans to peck him on the lips.

'What language was that?' Copley frowns in confusion.

'Occitan,' Nicky replies dryly. 'Which means they're either making snarky comments about us or they've slipped into dirty talk.'

'Based on Book's flush, it's definitely dirty talk. Did you promise to read him erotic novels out loud, kid?' Andy cackles.

'Andy, be nice,' Quynh admonishes gently. 'Foreplay comes in many shapes and forms,' she continues sweetly, prompting another round of laughter.

'I'm not even gonna bother with a reply. Come on, Seb, I need a change of scenery,' Nile says, getting up, taking his hand and leading him out of the room.

'Seb?' Copley asks, eyes shining with amusement.

'Yeah, she hasn't called him Booker in a very long time. Not even when they fight,' Joe explains.

'Well, they seem to be a perfect match and I'm happy for them.'

'You know what, do you wanna share custody?' Andy blurts out. 'Because I can guarantee you won't be able to stomach their lovey-doveyness for more than a week!'

'No, thank you, I value my sanity,' Copley chuckles. 'But feel free to call me whenever you want to rant,' he adds before getting hit with a pillow.


	8. The one with the restaurant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 of BoNfire week (Book of Nile appreciation week on Tumblr).
> 
> Theme of the day: **Loss, Compassion and Hope**
> 
> Tags: #BoNfire week #BoN fete

'You're gonna love it, I swear! There's this old building, probably built in the 1870s, if I remember correctly and the place takes up the ground and the first floor, overlooking the river,' Booker rambles excitedly, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding Nile's across the console.

Every once in a while he lets go to gesticulate wildly but he always reaches back for her hand once finished, squeezing it tightly.

'Are you sure it's still there?' Nile teases because this detour has been a spur-of-the-moment decision and neither of them has bothered to look the place up on the Internet.

'Of course it's still there,' Booker scoffs. 'It's been running since the 1920s, the owners are probably the fifth or sixth generation by now. Oh, and they have this amazing rhubarb pie. It's probably the best I've ever eaten in my entire life!'

Nile smiles softly, rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand. Excited Booker is one of her favourite versions of him.

'How much longer till we get there?' she asks.

'About ten minutes,' he replies, locking eyes with her for a brief second. 'You're gonna love it,' he says again, grinning happily.

True to his word, less than ten minutes later he's parking on a narrow street, excitement level already through the roof. There's a spring in his step as he guides her among old buildings that look slightly derelict and at a certain point he even starts whistling under his breath. 

Nile is getting hyped up too and she can't wait to finally see the restaurant Booker has been talking about for the past hour. It must be really good if he always goes back to it whenever he's in the city. She's casually surveying the area, taking in random architectural details when she feels Booker come to an unexpected halt. She'd managed to take an extra step, but his hand in hers is pulling her back, so she turns around to look at him, only to be met with the most desolate expression she's ever seen on his face.

'What's wrong?'

He doesn't reply, staring blankly at something behind her back. Nile frowns, then slowly turns on the spot, following his line of sight.

'Oh, sweetie,' she murmurs. 'I'm so sorry!'

The building they're both looking at, the one she assumes had housed the restaurant for over a century, is now in ruins. The whitewash looks more like a dull grey and a lot of the windows are broken or missing entirely. It looks like it's been abandoned for quite some time and it makes her really sad, even though she's never been here before. She can only imagine what Booker feels like.

'Let's go,' he says quietly. 'I'm sorry I dragged you here, I should have checked it's still open,' he adds with a little sigh and it literally makes her heart break.

'It's ok, sweetie. I know you were very excited to share it with me and that's all that matters. And I'm really, really sorry.'

Booker just shrugs and they head back to the car. The spring in his step is gone, so is the happy smile on his face.

'Give me the keys,' she says.

He doesn't protest, sliding in the passenger seat and looking completely miserable. Nile takes out her phone, does a quick search online, turns on the GPS and then starts the car. Booker is staring out the window, not saying a word and she reaches her right hand to play with the hair at his nape and lets him wallow in sadness for the entire drive.

'Where are we?' he asks confusedly when she parks in front of a glass-and-concrete building no more than fifteen minutes later.

'I know it won't be the same but apparently this place has the best desserts in town. They also have rhubarb pie, which I'm sure is gonna seem mediocre at best, but I thought you could do a comparison and then rant about how much it sucks compared to the other one.'

Booker is looking at her with wide eyes and for a split second she fears she might have overplayed her hand. And then he snorts and starts laughing.

'I love you,' he finally says when he manages to calm down.

'I love you too. Now come on, let's go complain about the unfairness of life and their most likely sucky pie!'


	9. The one at the mall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 of BoNfire week (Book of Nile appreciation week on Tumblr).
> 
> Theme of the day: **Naughty _vs_ Nice**
> 
> Tags: #BoNfire week #BoN fete

'Do we really have to?' Booker whines, widening his eyes to an almost comical size and pouting for the extra effect.

Nile raises both eyebrows, an impassive look on her face which _has_ to be a first. Usually, Booker's puppy eyes are irresistible.

'We have lots of stuff to buy, ranging from food to clothes to decorations. Plus, you've been nagging me about that book for the past week. Not to mention we need to exchange some money as well and-'

'Ok, fine, you have a point,' he huffs, starting the car and looking for a decent radio station.

'I don't get it, you've never complained about going to the mall. On the contrary, you've been extremely excited at times, like a hamster on speed.'

'That's because it was always summer,' he grumbles, rapidly switching from one station to the next.

'Would you just pick one already?' Nile snaps.

'They're all playing the same jolly, get-into-the-holiday-spirit bullshit!'

'So?'

'It's too early!' he whines again, turning the radio off entirely.

Nile frowns in utter confusion. 'It's four o'clock in the afternoon.'

Booker just grunts, clearly irritated, so Nile shrugs and settles for ignoring him for the time being.

Twenty minutes later, they're in the underground parking lot, looking for the elevators.

'Jesus, I can't catch a break!' Booker mumbles, grimacing at the loud music that's coming from strategically placed speakers all over the place. 'I'm sick off this lame ass song!'

'Hey, no badmouthing Mariah!'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, I think I've spotted the elevators,' he says, pulling her by the hand.

There are a lot of people waiting in line, so Nile watches Booker impatiently tap his foot, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He looks cute and it makes her want to giggle, so she leans to kiss him on the cheek instead. He smiles softly, then resumes scowling when the elevator doors open and more Christmas music spills out from the little speaker in the top right corner.

The mall itself is a lot worse. The music is blaring, all the window panes are beautifully decorated with tinsel and fake snow and fairy lights and Nile feels so deliriously happy that she actually does a pirouette, grinning like an absolute maniac.

'You've _got_ to be kidding me!' Booker exclaims, glaring murderously at the huge Christmas Tree.

'It's so beautiful! Oh, let's take a selfie,' Nile suggests, bubbling over with zest and dragging Booker in front of the tree.

'I think I'm gonna kill myself,' he mutters, but smiles nonetheless and pulls her closer.

'I didn't know you were such a Grinch,' she laughs after the fifth or sixth selfie and heads in a random direction, allowing other people to take pictures of the tree.

'I'm not,' he protests. 'But this is way too excessive, really! I mean, it's not even December yet. By the time we actually get to Christmas, everyone is already sick of the decorations and the music and don't get me started on holiday-themed movie reruns because how many times can someone watch _Home Alone_?' he finishes his rant with another adorable pout and Nile's heart absolutely melts.

'Come here,' she says softly.

She had stopped walking at a certain point and Booker looks at her questioningly before taking the few steps needed to reach her. She presses herself to him, hands playing with the lapels of his coat and smiles naughtily.

'Look up!'

Booker follows her line of sight and promptly starts chuckling.

'I should've expected some damned mistletoe as well.'

'Are you complaining?'

'Not in the slightest,' he whispers before leaning to capture her lips in a gentle kiss.


	10. The one with the ruined book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 of BoNfire week (Book of Nile appreciation week on Tumblr).
> 
> Theme of the day: **Justice and New Beginnings**
> 
> Tags: #BoNfire week #BoN fete

'Um, why are we here?' Nicky asks in a low voice, leaning over Joe to look Nile straight in the eyes.

'Beats me,' she shrugs.

'How can you not know, kid?' Andy asks disbelievingly.

'Well I don't know _everything_ that goes through that wacky brain of his!'

'Yeeeeah, I'm not buying that,' Andy huffs, crossing her arms.

'Hey, you guys have known him way longer than me. If anything, _I_ should be the one asking what's going on,' Nile retorts defensively.

'Maybe, but none of us is his soulmate, remember?'

'Oh my god, Joe, really? I'll give you the damned recipe myself, just get over it already!'

'I don't want it anymore,' Joe pouts, narrowing his eyes at Nile.

Just as Nile is about to make a snarky remark about his age and his toddler attitude, Booker marches in the living room, hands behind his back and a determined look in his eyes. They're all crowded on the couch, so Booker stops in front of it, staring coldly at each and every one of them.

'You're probably wondering why I've gathered you all here,' he starts theatrically.

'Not really, no,' Nile deadpans.

Booker glares murderously at her, lips in a thin line and jaw clenched, which is probably meant to make her cower but instead makes her snort. Booker deliberately ignores her and resumes scowling at everyone else.

'You know I love you all dearly and I have no problem whatsoever with sharing my stuff. What's mine is yours and you're free to borrow whatever you want for an indefinite amount of time. However, I do expect you to return said item in the condition you found it and if that's not possible, to at least tell me about it. All this being said, who among you is the author of this barbarity?' he demands, pulling a book from behind his back that looks like it's been learning how to swim.

Everyone hisses and winces, obviously feeling Booker's pain of having one of his beloved books, which is most likely a first edition because that's just how he rolls, mistreated in such a way. Nile swallows audibly but just like everyone else, stays quiet.

'I promise I won't stab whoever is responsible, though the more you delay the admission, the more tempted I become,' he mutters dangerously, all but shoving the book under their noses. 'So? Who was it?'

It's so quiet that you could hear a needle drop, so Booker just tuts disapprovingly.

'Fine, we're gonna have to do this the hard way,' he says, heading for his and Nile's bedroom.

'Ok, whoever it was, you'd better say something before he loses it,' Andy says seriously.

'What's he gonna do, actually stab us?' Nile scoffs but to her surprise, no one is laughing.

Booker returns from the bedroom with a large suitcase and places it on the coffee table. Nile watches in shock as the guys stifle gasps and actually recoil.

'Seriously, a Detective & Spy Kit?'

'Yes. If none of you are willing to admit, I'm gonna have to compare fingerprints.'

Nile literally pinches her right thigh because this _has_ to be a dream. Her wonderful husband, the love of her life who's over two hundred years old _cannot_ just threaten five other immortals with a detective kit for kids. The strangest part is that not one of said immortals is protesting. On the contrary, they're actually debating who should have their fingerprints taken first. Damn it!

'Fine, it was me,' Nile admits reluctantly. 'I'm really, really sorry! I was flipping through it while you were sleeping and I accidentally spilled my coffee on it.'

Booker stares at her, an indecipherable look on his face. The rest of the guys, after having sighed in relief that they don't have to scrub their fingers clean anymore, are now waiting anxiously for Booker to explode.

'Why didn't you say anything?' he asks in a neutral tone.

'Because I was gonna replace it. I've found another first edition online and I was about to order it when you called us all here. I was gonna give you the new one and at the same time tell you about the accident. Again, I'm really sorry, sweetheart, I know how much you care about your books. The new one should arrive in a couple of days once I place the order,' she finishes her little speech, smiling sadly at him.

'There's no need, darling!' he smiles gently. 'I think I'd like to keep this one as it is. But do be more careful next time.'

'Absolutely. No more liquids within a two-metre radius,' she grins, which makes Booker chuckle.

'That's it?' Quynh exclaims. 'No yelling, no scolding, just "do be more careful next time"? What the hell is wrong with you?'

'Did you honestly expect me to yell at her?' Booker asks, completely horrified by the prospect.

'YES!!' Andy, Quynh, Joe and Nicky shout at the same time.

'You guys are completely insane,' he says, shaking his head. 'Come on, darling, I need help drying the book, the blow dryer should do the trick,' he adds, taking Nile's hand and heading for the bathroom.

Nile turns to look at the guys who are all sporting indignant looks and winks at them behind Booker's back, grinning naughtily.


	11. The one with the tropical holiday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 of BoNfire week (Book of Nile appreciation week on Tumblr).
> 
> Theme of the day: **Cultural Exchange**
> 
> Tags: #BoNfire week #BoN fete

' _If you like piña coladas.. And getting caught in the rain..._ ' Nile hums quietly.

'I hate that song!' Booker grumbles.

He's lying on his back, arms and legs spread wide and eyes closed. He looks like a starfish, colour included, because he obstinately refuses to put on some damned sunscreen.

'How can you not like this song?' Nile gasps in shock, turning on her right side to look at him.

Booker senses her movement, so he turns his head to the left, cracking one eye open.

'Have you ever listened to the lyrics?' he asks in what is most likely a rhetorical question.

'Nope, not really,' she shrugs. 'I just like the melody,' she adds and Booker sighs in mild frustration.

'How you can listen to a song, sometimes for hundreds of times, and yet not actually hear the lyrics is completely beyond my comprehension.'

Nile shrugs again, taking a sip from her pineapple cocktail. Or whatever you call a cocktail that's in an actual pineapple, decorated with little paper umbrellas and shiny silvery palm trees.

'It's the vibe that matters,' she says breezily, turning on her back and stretching lazily. 'It's one of those songs that I always associate with tropical islands. You know, like _California Dreamin'_ or _Club Tropicana_.'

' _Club Tropicana_ is probably the only one that actually works lyrics-wise.'

'You're such a buzzkill! Let me enhance my tropical experience with music that, at least for me, fits.'

'Here, let me help you,' Booker says, reaching for his phone and opening Spotify.

'Oh, this sounds nice! Yeap, nice vibe. What's it called?'

' _Acapulco_ ,' he chuckles.

'No way!'

'Really. Here, I'll send it to you.'

'Thank you, sweetie.'

'My pleasure. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you,' Booker says, turning on his left side, leaning on his elbow and propping his head up with his hand, 'how come you wanted to spend the winter holidays in Acapulco?'

Nile opens her eyes, looking completely confused, so Booker elaborates.

'I mean, you love winter and snow and-'

'I wouldn't say I _love_ winter,' Nile interjects.

'Nevertheless. It's not something I would've thought you'd suggest and you completely took me by surprise with this destination.'

'I don't know. We've spent the last couple of winters in snowy places and I know you hate the cold, so I thought we could do something different this year.'

'So.. it's for my benefit,' Booker says slowly, eyes shining with barely concealed delight.

'Yes,' Nile says seriously, 'and I hope you appreciate the sacrifice I'm making,' she carries on, stretching again and sighing contentedly.

'I'll make it up to you once we get back to the hotel,' he murmurs, voice like sweltering honey.

'I can't wait.'


	12. The one with the Christmas trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 of BoNfire week (Book of Nile appreciation week on Tumblr).
> 
> Theme of the day: **The group getting goofy**
> 
> Tags: #BoNfire week #BoN fete

'You know, when I suggested we decorate a Christmas tree I never thought we'd end up doing _three_!' Nile mutters quietly, rummaging through the box on the couch for the silver star that needs to go on top.

'I'm genuinely surprised that you're surprised,' Booker chuckles while trying to disentangle the fairy lights. 'You know how competitive Andy and Joe can get and to be honest, Nicky and Quynh are just enabling them.'

'Just because my hands are busy doesn't mean I can't hear you, Booker,' Nicky says threateningly.

However, he's currently on all fours, head under his and Joe's tree doing god knows what, so the threat falls flat. Booker smirks nonchalantly.

'What makes you think I didn't want you to hear me?'

'Just mind your damned tree, will you?' Joe snaps.

'Oh, somebody's being grumpy. What's the matter, Yusuf, not enough tinsel?' Quynh asks sweetly, words laced heavily with sarcasm.

'That goes for you too - mind your damned tree!'

'I don't get it. Why does it even have to be a competition?' Nile asks innocently.

'As if _you_ 're not stealing glances at _our_ tree,' Andy quips while hanging another gold bauble.

'I'm not! I don't even like the theme you've chosen,' Nile says defensively, flinching when both Andy and Quynh glare murderously at her.

'Ha! Told you gold and green is a bad combo,' Joe interjects triumphantly.

'I don't like your theme either,' Nile says. 'Way too many colours, I feel like my eyes are going to explode!'

'Yeah, well, silver and blue plain sucks!' Joe retorts petulantly, crossing his arms and scowling at her.

'Now you've done it,' Booker murmurs, trying very hard not to laugh and failing spectacularly.

'Well, I'm sorry, but our combo is the best,' she shrugs, picking up a silver garland and draping over the lower branches.

'We'll see about that,' Andy mutters irritatedly.

Half an hour later, the three trees are lined up and Andy is taking pictures of them from all possible angles. When she's done, she dials Copley's number and puts him on speaker when he picks up.

_'Hello, Andy!'_

'Hey, Copley! You busy?'

_'Not really, I was just about to start making dinner. Is everything alright?'_

'Yeah, yeah, all good. Listen, we need your help.'

_'Of course.'_

'I'm gonna send you three pictures of Christmas trees and I need you to tell me which one is the best.'

 _'Excuse me?'_ Copley asks incredulously after a few seconds of silence.

'We're having a competition and you're the judge, ok?' Joe explains impatiently. 'Andy, send him the pictures but don't mention who did which tree.'

_'Wait, are you actually serious?'_

'Of course we are,' Nile interjects.

'Call me back after you pick the winner,' Andy adds, hanging up and immediately sending the three pictures.

It seems to take forever for Copley to make up his mind and when Andy's phone finally buzzes, Nile jolts anxiously, making Booker shake his head in amusement.

'So?' Andy cuts straight to the chase.

_'Look, they're all very beautiful, I can't just-'_

'Cut the crap, Copley, which one?' Joe cuts him off impatiently.

_'I'm serious, they're all-'_

'Copley, I swear to god, if you don't tell me right now-'

_'The blue and silver one.'_

'Thank you,' Andy says in a clipped tone, hanging up without even saying goodbye.

Nile crosses her arms and tilts her chin up, smirking smugly at all of them.

'Told you it's the best combo,' she says casually. 'Come on, Seb, let's move the tree to our room, I wanna be able to admire it while lounging in bed.'

Booker once again shakes his head in amusement, snaking his hand between the branches to grab the trunk and lifting it carefully off the ground.

'See you later, plebs!' he winks before heading to his and Nile's bedroom.


	13. The one with the balloons

Nile sees them the moment they get off the rollercoaster and promptly starts laughing. The expressions they're sporting couldn't be more different: while Joe looks like an overhyped retriever going on its first car ride, Nicky has a dazed look in his eyes and seems to be seconds away from fainting. She wonders if it's even possible and takes out her phone and starts filming them as they make their way towards her, just in case he does pass out. This could be blackmail material for the next century.

'Are you filming us?' Joe asks curiously when they're within hearing distance.

Nile hums and nods, focusing on the phone.

'Why?'

'Nicky looks like he's about to faint and I'll be damned if I miss the opportunity to have it on tape for the rest of eternity,' she snickers, angling her phone to capture only Nicky in the frame. 'Are you ok, honey?' she asks sweetly.

Nicky mutters a string of curses in Italian and French, for some reason, flipping her off irritatedly.

'Where's Book?'

'Off to get ice cream, though he should have been back by now,' Nile frowns slightly, turning off the camera and slipping the phone in the back pocket of her jeans.

She stands on her tiptoes, craning her neck in the direction of the ice cream stand but there are too many people for her to be able to actually spot him. She turns to Joe and Nicky, intent on teasing the latter some more when she notices their eyes widen in sync before they both start laughing heartily at something behind her.

Nile turns around slowly and immediately facepalms. Booker is heading towards them, all but skipping and a very satisfied look on his face but what makes Nile groan is the fifty or so balloons that hover above his head, strings held tightly like a bouquet of flowers.

'Hey, guys,' he grins gleefully.

'Seb,' Nile asks cautiously, 'what's with the balloons?'

'Aren't they pretty?' Booker asks innocently.

Joe and Nicky guffaw and Nile narrows her eyes at him, wondering if he snorted something behind their backs.

'There was a kid selling them and he kept saying "balloons, balloons, pretty balloons" but no-one would stop to buy any so I felt sorry for him and I bought all of them,' he explains in the same breath, blinking rapidly.

There's another round of laughter from Joe and Nicky and a careless shrug from Booker and Nile just shakes her head, dragging a hand over her face.

'Sweetheart, I love your big heart, truly, but what are we gonna do with fifty balloons?'

'Forty-six.'

'Whatever,' she huffs impatiently.

'We can throw a surprise birthday party,' he suggests.

'For whom?'

'Who cares?' he shrugs again and he looks so happy that she doesn't have the heart to tell him off.

'Just go shove them in the trunk, ok? We'll wait for you here,' she sighs resignedly.

Booker grins joyfully, pecks her on the lips and prances towards the parking lot.

'Knowing him, he'll get lost along the way and buy more useless stuff,' Joe snickers.

'I know. Come on, let's go get ice cream!'


	14. The one with the snow angels

'Wanna make snow angels?' Nile asks excitedly, eyes trained on the vast expanse of glittering white that lays in front of them.

'What do you mean?' he asks confusedly.

Nile looks at him, a blend of scepticism and disbelief written plainly across her face.

'Don't tell me you don't know what a snow angel is,' she enunciates slowly, widening her eyes at Booker's neutral yet curious expression. 'Oh my god, you really don't know,' she grins, delighted by the opportunity to teach him something new.

She grabs his hand and takes a couple of steps away from the path, then stops and flops down, laughing at the dumbstruck look on his face.

'Ok, lie down.'

'What?'

'Come on, lie down,' she urges.

'No, no, no, no, not in a million years,' he says seriously, crossing his arms. 'I'm fine with _walking_ through snow, though that's only because you derive an unhealthy amount of pleasure from it and you know I live to make you happy but- What?'

'You're the sweetest, most adorable human being in existence and I love you so much I'm about to burst!' Nile gushes.

She does, a bit more with every passing day, something she had thought happens only in fairy tales and cheap Hallmark rom-coms. But it's moments like this one, where Booker casually slips grand declarations amid otherwise mundane things that make her knees go weak and her heart swell to the point it starts to actually hurt.

'I love you too, darling, always,' he says with a soft smile, 'but I'm still not lying down.'

'Are you really gonna leave my angel all alone?'

Booker just looks at her, completely impassive.

'Fine,' Nile mutters, pursing her lips and letting herself fall back in the snow.

She hasn't made a snow angel in what seems like forever. Between jumping from one country to another almost on a weekly basis and Booker hating winter with a passion she hasn't really had the chance to enjoy the pleasant parts of the season, apart from cuddling in front of a fireplace. _That_ 's something he never says no to.

She starts moving her arms and legs rhythmically and maybe a bit too enthusiastically because she can hear Booker chuckling under his breath.

'What's so funny?'

'You flailing your arms and legs around like a maniac,' he replies, thoroughly amused.

'You'd better not be filming me,' she threatens half-heartedly.

'Of course I am.'

'You suck!' she pouts and stops moving, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

'Will you forgive me if I make a companion for your angel?' Booker asks and Nile lifts her head and narrows her eyes at him incredulously.

'I also get to film you,' she says in a no-nonsense voice.

Booker sighs and rolls his eyes, then plops down in the snow, sporting a look of intense pain.

'Never doubt how much I love you,' he grumbles.

'Never,' she laughs.


	15. The one with the fight

There's a loud bang that comes from the kitchen, followed by Nile's string of curses in Spanish and Booker's exasperated sigh.

'I _swear_ you have jelly hands!'

'You were in my way,' Nile replies in a clipped tone and Joe thinks Booker's smart not to add anything else.

'Do you think it would be rude if I got up and closed the kitchen door?' Nicky whispers conspiratorially.

Joe chuckles under his breath, lifting his eyes from his book. He hasn't been able to focus too much anyway because these two idiots have been snapping at each for the past twenty minutes. At first it had been mildly entertaining. Nile and Booker usually work incredibly well together, regardless of whether they have to rescue hostages or do the laundry. Today, though, they've been at each other's throats since morning and it's starting to become annoying.

'I don't know why they thought cooking together would be a good idea. Judging by how edgy they've both been all day I'm surprised they haven't killed each other yet,' Nicky adds in the same quiet voice.

'Give it ten more minutes,' Joe snickers, returning to his book.

He's just finished reading the same paragraph for the third time when Nile's irritated voice rings across the entire flat.

'That's it, I've had it with your pretentiousness and your fucking high standards! I don't even know why I'm here!'

'I never _asked_ for your help so I don't know why you're here either!'

Joe grimaces, looking at Nicky and shaking his head.

'That's gonna cost him dearly,' Nicky whispers.

'Because you only have two speeds when you're cooking: slow and very slow. I'd like to have dinner _today_ , if possible,' Nile retorts sarcastically.

'Ouch!' Joe mouths, making Nicky grin.

'You can't rush perfection, darling,' Booker drawls, making his usual endearment sound painfully condescending.

'Perfection my ass! This is just you being your regular French snobbish self.'

There's another bang and then rushed stomping heading for the living room. Joe quickly buries his nose in his book while Nicky stares intently at the TV. Joe's not entirely sure why they're both pretending to be engrossed in their respective activities, the idiots are being loud enough that the neighbours can probably hear them too.

'I guess it's a case of Mercury retrograde because you're being extra bitchy today,' Booker sneers.

Joe frowns at Nicky, struggling to hold back laughter. Mercury retrograde? What the fuck? Nile wheels around, looking absolutely livid.

'You're a fucking asshole and I don't wanna see your face for the rest of the day!' she barks, turning around and heading for their bedroom.

'Fine by me!' Booker yells at her retreating back and goes back to the kitchen.

The sound of two doors being slammed almost at the same time echoes throughout the flat.

'Such drama queens!' Joe laughs. 'Two hundred says he goes after her within the next five minutes.'

'Neah, _she_ 'll go after _him_ ,' Nicky grins.

'Done.'

Not one minute passes before the two doors open and two pairs of footsteps rush towards each other, colliding in the living room.

'I'm so sorry,' Booker mumbles before kissing her fervently, one hand cradling her head and the other wrapped around her waist.

'I'm sorry too,' Nile pants in his mouth, lifting her hands to tangle them in his hair.

'You can't even bet on these two,' Joe mutters, rolling his eyes but smiling nonetheless.


	16. The one with the wedding rings

Nile's in that state again. The one where she's so hyped that she barely pays attention to her surroundings. Except him, of course. Her focus on him never wavers and even after all these years it's something he doesn't take for granted.

One of the demons in his head lifts his head giddily, jumping at the opportunity to mess with his inner peace.

_She might get bored one day._

Booker frowns for a second, then takes a deep breath. Nile would smack him over the head if she knew what was going through his mind right now. Luckily, she's so caught up in telling him all about some well-documented video she had found on YouTube the other day that she doesn't notice his small lapse.

'-and did you know the first artificial pigment is Egyptian blue?' she asks, looking at him with bright, shining eyes.

They're heading for their favourite breakfast spot in Budapest and for the past ten minutes they've been navigating the narrow streets _and_ the throng of tourists who have swarmed the city centre, despite it being only nine o'clock in the morning. Budapest is too touristy in the summer for his liking but Nile loves people and crowded places, so…

'I don't think so,' he says gently, pulling her hand to detour around a group of tourists that are taking photos of god knows what using their _tablets_.

'Do these people not have phones?' he mumbles in mild irritation.

Nile shrugs and resumes her exposé on colours. This is probably his favourite version of her: the sparkling eyes, the animated speech, the wild gestures, even if they're only done with one hand because the other is held snug by his larger one. Quite frankly, he's struggling to pay attention to the words because it's what she _doesn't_ say with words that's most fascinating.

She's all but skipping down the cobbled stone, half-turning towards him every once in a while and the green and blue sundress she's wearing twirls around her legs with every move and it's all so damn mesmerising that he just can't help himself. He stops all of a sudden and the inertia makes her fall back into his chest and he doesn't even care they're in the middle of the road, he leans down to press his lips softly against hers, hands resting on her hips. She grins happily when he pulls back and continues her little lecture, as if he hadn't just interrupted her mid-sentence.

When they finally sit down at what has become their regular table, the one in the corner with the small yellow vase with red flowers, Booker watches as Nile picks up the menu and studies it intently, as if she doesn't already know it by heart by now. She's biting her lower lip in concentration and some of her braids keep falling in her face, the ones that are adorned with little gold beads and she pushes them impatiently out of the way. They don't stay put.

The light catches on her wedding ring and it hits him like a freight train, the realisation that she has chosen _him_ and she _keeps_ choosing him and _fuck you, stupid demon, **I** know better_. The wedding ring matches the beads perfectly and an exchange they had some time ago suddenly pops in his head.

_'How come you never choose silver beads? Or silver jewelry, for that matter?_

_'Because it wouldn't match the wedding band and I'm never taking **that** off.'_

'Seb, are you even listening to me?' she asks amusedly, cocking her head to the left and his heart soars at the familiar gesture that used to be only his and is now hers as well.

'Yes?'

Nile just looks at him impassively, although her eyes are definitely laughing.

'Fine, no. Sorry. I was just thinking… how about we go get ourselves platinum wedding rings?'

'Are you tired of these ones already?' she laughs.

'No, but I think silver beads would look very pretty on your braids,' he says simply.

Nile's laughter turns into the most beautiful smile he has ever seen, complete with glazed eyes and a slightly scrunched up nose. And then she grins widely and starts literally bouncing up and down in her seat.

'Can we look for silver beads too?'

'And any other silver thing you want,' he chuckles.


	17. The one with the Cuzco barista

Felipe's days are pretty much the same. He wakes up at six in the morning, usually cursing the alarm. If he does it out loud it also distracts him from hitting the snooze button, which is for the best. He has a quick shower, grabs an even quicker breakfast and then takes the tram to work. The coffee shop is on the other side of the city and he needs to be there at seven. He's by no means a morning person, so the tram ride is spent dozing off but he has classes at the University in the afternoon and his manager has allowed him to always take the morning shift, something for which Felipe is extremely grateful.

Today, though, he has a doctor's appointment at eight thirty so Carla will have to make do without him for a couple of hours. When he finally arrives at the coffee shop it's way past ten and he all but bursts through the door and rushes to the back room to change into his uniform.

'Your _flaco_ is already here,' Carla grins from the doorway and Felipe rolls his eyes while tying the apron behind his back.

'Would you stop calling him my boyfriend, please?' he asks, although there's no hint of irritation in his voice.

'Maybe if you stopped swooning every time he smiles at you.'

'I don't swoon!' Felipe replies indignantly and takes his place behind the counter.

There are quite a few people in the coffee shop and sure enough, the _churro_ he _does_ in fact drool over is sat at his regular table by the window. He's wearing blue today, a dark blue T-shirt that brings out his eyes and pulls deliciously across his chest and-

'Close your mouth, Pipo, you'll catch flies,' Carla teases and Felipe realises he's been openly staring at the guy.

Sebastián, that's the name he had given for his loyalty card and it's pretty much all he knows about him. Oh, and he's probably married if the band on his left ring finger is any indication, though Felipe has never seen him accompanied in all the time he's been coming to the coffee shop, which is every single day at ten o'clock for the past three and a half weeks. Not that he's been keeping track or anything.

He's always by himself and he seems to have some sort of routine that Felipe knows about just because he's observant, not because he has developed a crush on the guy. So, he comes at ten, orders the largest black coffee they have on the menu, no sugar, no honey and then takes a seat by the window and pulls a book out of his messenger bag and starts reading. Sometimes his phone buzzes and his eyes always light up when checking it, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. Other times he just lifts his eyes from the book and stares out the window for a good couple of minutes, completely still and a forlorn look on his face.

Felipe thinks Sebastián is lonely. It's a wild assumption based on nothing, really, but there's just something about him that makes Felipe think of an abandoned puppy. If he were a bit more gutsy he would try to make some small talk, find out more about him, like where he's from or what brings him to Cuzco. His Spanish is flawless but he does have a slight accent and Felipe is curious as hell. However, he's not the gutsy type and either way, he has the feeling that Sebastián prefers to be left alone.

The next day Felipe is both shocked and disappointed when he looks at the clock and sees that it's almost eleven and Sebastián hasn't showed up. He'd gotten used to seeing him enter the coffee shop at ten o'clock sharp and the empty table by the window is making him feel uneasy.

'You don't think something's happened to him, do you?' he asks quietly and Carla just snorts.

'Pipo, honestly!'

'I'm serious, he's never late.'

'Maybe he's found another coffee shop. Maybe his holiday is over. Or his business trip. Maybe he's gotten tired of you ogling him,' she teases.

Felipe rolls his eyes and then sighs. He'd become accustomed to seeing him every day but Carla is right, there could be a million explanations for why he's not here today. Oh well, wherever he is, Felipe hopes he's ok.

The bell above the door rings, signalling a new customer and Felipe goes behind the counter to greet them. To his immense surprise, it's Sebastián but this time he's not alone. There's a young woman next to him, with chocolate skin and pretty braids piled on the top of her head and she's giggling happily, probably at something he's said. What's even more surprising is the expression on Sebastián's face: he's grinning widely, eyes crinkled at the corners and he looks so blissfully happy that Felipe can't help but mirror his smile.

'What do you recommend?' the woman asks Sebastián in English and now Felipe _really_ wants to know where they're from.

'You know me, darling, I'm a black coffee guy,' he shrugs.

'You mean to tell me you haven't tried anything else on their menu?' she gasps.

Sebastián shakes his head, looking a bit sheepish.

'Not even the desserts?' she carries on and this time she actually looks horrified when he shakes his head again.

'I swear to god, Seb, if it weren't for me you'd never try anything new foodwise!'

 _Seb_. That sounds adorable, Felipe thinks, struggling to stifle the urge to giggle.

'You're the foodie, darling, I just follow your lead,' he shrugs again and presses his lips to her temple.

'Give us two minutes, please,' the woman says in a slightly accented Spanish and Felipe just nods and smiles.

He's noticed she's wearing an identical gold band on her ring finger and based on their short exchange and the fact that Sebastián is looking at her as if she were the centre of the universe, Felipe is positive she's his wife. For some reason the discovery makes him very happy.

'Ok, so, a caramel latte with hazelnut syrup for me, please. The boring black coffee he's been ordering for the past month for him,' she adds teasingly. 'A slice of lemon and poppy seed cake and an _alfajore_.'

'You already have caramel in your latte,' Sebastián interjects.

'True. Uhm, an apricot _empanada_ instead.'

For the next hour or so Felipe steals glances at their table as surreptitiously as possible, although Sebastián and his wife are so focused on each other that they wouldn't notice if the coffee shop went up in flames, let alone the barista studying them from behind the counter. It's a little creepy, he'll admit that, but Felipe is equal parts fascinated and envious of the way they _are_ together.

They're sitting so close you couldn't wedge a sheet of paper between them, holding hands and smiling lovingly at each other. The woman is talking animatedly, describing something with her free hand and Sebastián is paying close attention, adding a thought here and there that makes her laugh heartily, head thrown back and earrings swinging wildly. If the dictionary entry for "love" needed a picture, Felipe thinks that a snapshot of them gazing at each other would be more than perfect.

When they get up to leave they both wave and say goodbye, smiling broadly at him. Somehow, Felipe knows he'll never see them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Churro_ is Peruvian slang for hot guy (according to Google) and I think it's absolutely adorable!


	18. The one with the tightrope walking

It's not often that she wakes to an empty bed. The only other person in existence who hates mornings more than Booker is Joe, so either she has overslept or... Or nothing, there really is no other explanation. 

Eyes half-closed, Nile reaches for her phone on the nightstand, knocks it to the floor and curses out loud. She then crawls towards the edge of the bed and lets her head hang limply while fumbling around for the stupid thing. It's almost ten o'clock, which is late by her normal standards but they had all gone to sleep right before dawn because Quynh had felt like clubbing and she'd somehow managed to drag all of them with her. On a Wednesday night, no less.

So then, why isn't Booker curled up behind her, snoring softly with a droplet of drool trickling from the corner of his mouth? Maybe she's still asleep and this is just a dream. She pinches her left arm and lets out another round of curses. Nope, she's awake. Time to investigate.

As expected, the house is very quiet and the only other person she finds is Nicky, bustling about in the kitchen. His hair is sticking up at odd angles and his eyes are bloodshot, as if he'd been drinking all night. Oh wait, he had. Just like the rest of them.

'Please tell me there's coffee,' Nile mumbles instead of _good morning_ , letting herself fall on one of the chairs.

'Freshly made,' he winks and despite his disheveled appearance, he's his regular chipper self.

He puts the pot on the table along with the jar of honey, then places a mug in front of her with a _help yourself_ gesture. Still bleary-eyed, she picks it up and reads the quote on it: _let's keep the dumbfuckery to a minimum today_. She looks suspiciously at him, then at the mug, then back at him. The idiot has such a wide grin on his face that it's beginning to look disturbing.

'Nicky…'

'Yeees?' he replies, dragging the vowel.

'What are you trying to tell me?'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'See, if you weren't grinning like the fucking Riddler I might just buy it.'

'Like who?'

Nile smacks her forehead with her hand, then lets it slide across her face. Booker would have gotten that. Speaking of…

'Have you seen Seb?'

'Out in the yard with Joe,' Nicky replies, biting his lower lip and looking like he's about to burst out laughing.

'Do I wanna know?' she asks, filling the mug with coffee and pouring a large dollop of honey in it.

'Probably not,' he replies, handing her a teaspoon.

Nile stirs thoughtfully for a few seconds, then abruptly gets up and heads for the living room. The French doors lead to the enclosed yard and Nile stretches one-handedly, smiling when the sun hits her face. And then freezes on the spot, staring incredulously ahead.

'Told you you might not want to know,' Nicky chuckles from behind her.

There are two elm trees in the yard, about fifteen metres from each other. There is also a rope tied between them, about six metres from the ground. There's Joe on the grass, giving indications in Italian. And then there's the love of her life, back against the trunk and getting ready to take the first step on the rope that at least seems to have been pulled as taut as possible.

Nile groans, then sighs, then drags her hand over her face and finally takes a deep breath and turns towards Nicky.

'Please tell me he was a circus performer at some point.'

'Nope, not really.'

'Then _why_?' she whines.

'Made a bet with Joe last night, you might have been on the dance floor. Needless to say, they were both totally wasted.'

'Yeah, no shit!'

'Three hundred says he'll make it halfway.'

'Neah, he'll fall after the first three steps and break something.'

'You're on!'

Nile really wishes she didn't know Booker so well. He manages to take the first two steps but the third isn't as confident, so after flailing his arms around like an idiot to try and regain his balance, he plummets to the ground, landing in a position that would make any contortionist green with envy.

'Fucking hell, I broke my arm!'

Nile turns impassively towards Nicky and raises an eyebrow.

'I expect to find the money on my nightstand when I get out of the shower,' she says, then goes inside the house. 'Oh and since he's definitely gonna try again, be a darling and film it, please.'


	19. The one where Booker and Joe get arrested

It's a plain room, like you would see in movies. There's a table and four chairs and that's pretty much it. Unlike the movies, though, they're not handcuffed, which is actually quite sad. What's the point in getting arrested if your hands aren't cuffed to the table?

'This is all your fault!' Joe grumbles in Italian, making Booker do a double take.

' _My_ fault? How the fuck is it _my_ fault? It was your idea to break in!'

'That’s because you were being an obstinate asshole!'

'I only said it could be mine as well,' Booker says defensively.

'Yeah, well, you shouldn't have said that,' Joe crosses his arms and scowls at him.

'Not _my_ fault you're overly sensitive!'

Joe gasps indignantly and the fire in his eyes tells Booker he's hit a sore spot but neither of them gets the chance to say anything else before the door opens and the police officer from earlier comes in.

'Right, gentlemen, this is what's going to happen. We will need to get your statements, a report will be written which will go on both your records and then you will be fined for trespassing. However, in order for things to go smoothly we need to ID you and since you don't have your passports on yourselves, you will be held in custody until someone can bring them here. I will give you a couple of minutes to contact friends or family members,' he finishes with a barely stifled smile and then leaves the room.

He seems like a nice guy, Booker thinks and he's obviously amused by their situation. After all, most people carry their IDs or passports with them, just like they're supposed to. The officer is probably making fun of them with his colleagues right now and it's definitely well-deserved.

'Who should we call?' Joe asks quietly.

'Well, I would suggest Nicky or Nile but I honestly feel safer in jail. Andy?'

'Hell, no, she's gonna skin us alive. Repeatedly,' Joe mutters.

'Which leaves Quynh,' Booker sighs. 'And I bet that if we ask her nicely and promise to make it up to her, she won't tell the rest of the guys.'

A little over an hour later, their statements have been taken, the report has been written and the fine has been handed to them, with the mention that they have twenty four hours to pay it.

'Gentlemen, you're free to go,' officer Runcie smiles. 'If I may, please make sure to carry ID on yourselves at all times and refrain from breaking into museums after closing hours, it's still trespassing, regardless of your enthusiasm for art,' he winks.

Both he and Joe nod sheepishly and follow the officer out of the room and Booker is already racking his brain on how to make it up to Quynh for coming to their rescue when Joe stops all of a sudden with a small gasp, making Booker almost run into him.

'What the hell, Joe?' he mutters but then he too freezes on the spot, eyes wide and almost unblinking.

Nile and Nicky are in the lobby, obviously waiting for them. He should have known Quynh would rat them out.

'Son of a bitch!' Booker murmurs, lightly shoving Joe's shoulder to get him to move.

'I suddenly feel the urge to spend the night in jail,' Joe whispers.

'Yeah, me too.'

Both Nile and Nicky have their arms crossed and are sporting uncannily identical expressions - a mix of exasperation and disappointment. What's even more unnerving is that neither of them says anything when Joe and Booker get closer. Nicky just stares at Joe for a few seconds, then at Booker and finally turns on his heels and heads out of the building. Nile, on the other hand, purses her lips and shakes her head disapprovingly before she follows Nicky outside.

The first five minutes of the ride home are quiet. He and Joe are in the backseat and Booker imagines that this is what a kid who's got in a fight at school must feel like after the parents have been called by the Principal. He'd like to run this theory by Joe but it's probably better if he stays quiet.

'Could either of you be so kind as to explain how you ended up at the police station instead of the stadium?'

Nicky's tone is as sharp as glass and Booker ponders whether to reply or let Joe tell the story. Joe is probably doing the same thing because the silence keeps stretching.

'We were just about to find out who Blue is so you'd better have a good explanation!' Nile huffs.

'Oh, you were watching _Love, Simon_?'

'Don't you _dare_ try to deflect, Sébastien!'

Joe snickers quietly at the use of his full name, so Booker elbows him hard in the ribs.

'Ow!'

'We were on the tube when we saw a poster for a new exhibition at the National Gallery. Joe recognised the painting as one of his but I said it very well could be one of mine because I remember forging it.'

'It couldn't have been yours, do you know how many attempts it took me to come up with that particular shade of blue?'

'That doesn't mean it would've been impossible, does it?'

'No, but highly unlikely,' Joe snaps.

'Still not impossible, you know-'

'Hold on,' Nile interrupts, 'you're telling me you broke into the National Gallery because you wanted to see whether the painting on the poster was Joe's or one of your forgeries?'

'We _had_ to settle it once and for all,' Joe replies, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

'And you couldn’t wait until tomorrow, when you could have paid the entrance fee like normal people?' she asks disbelievingly.

There's a beat of silence and then Joe's abashed voice.

'We didn't think of that.'

'Right, you're banned from going out just the two of you for the foreseeable future,' Nicky says calmly.

'Could be worse,' Booker whispers to Joe.

'Oh and Andy doesn't know yet, so you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do,' Nile adds.

'Fuck!'


	20. The one with the boys' night out

The phone starts buzzing just as the third kaiju emerges from the Breach.

'Throw it out the window,' Andy mumbles, eyes glued to the screen.

To her left, Quynh has literally stopped breathing and she's squeezing one of the throw pillows so tightly that Nile is afraid she's gonna rip it apart.

Without even checking she knows it's Booker. He's been texting her at random intervals, even though he's supposed to be enjoying a night out with Joe and Nicky and let _her_ enjoy the sci-fi movie marathon in peace.

The first text had been an _I miss you_ not even an hour after they had left. Then came an _I lpve you so much!!!11_ after another hour, followed by a _Waxha wachng??_ ten minutes later, at which point Nile had paused _Edge of Tomorrow_ to both Andy and Quynh's loud complaints.

'Hey, they've just landed at the Louvre!' Quynh had pouted.

'Just one minute,' Nile had promised.

She had then tried to call Booker to ask him to pretty please fuck off and let them swoon happily over Emily Blunt's blue eyes and toned abs. He hadn't picked up, so she had assumed it was safe to resume watching the movie.

Five minutes later, a new text. _S'too loud her e, music boom, can'# het gorh dali g, lob ou si jucn!_ She had never laughed so hard in her entire life. Her reply had been a thumbs up emoji, to which Booker had replied with a wall of orange hearts.

Now, though, he's actually calling, so she gets up and heads for the kitchen.

'Do we have to pause again?' Andy actually whines without taking her eyes off the screen.

'Neah, just go ahead and watch, I've already seen it anyway,' she says, making Andy and Quynh high five and giggle happily. 'Hello?'

_'Niiiiiiiile!'_

Booker sounds like a strangled cat and the fact he's using her given name tells her he's completely hammered. He only ever calls her Nile when they're having sex or when he's totally shitfaced and since it's not the first one…

'Yes, sweetie.'

 _'Can you please come pick me up?'_ he moans and his words are so slurred that they're barely intelligible.

'I'm sorry, what?'

_'I miss you!'_

'I miss you too, sweetheart but why aren't you taking a taxi?'

_'I don't have my wallet with me.'_

Of course he doesn't, something about making his pocket too bulgy. Nile rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath.

'But Joe and Nicky do,' she says slowly, as if talking to a toddler.

 _'They've abandoned me!'_ he wails.

'What do you mean they've abandoned you?'

_'I don't know where they are and they don't have phones and I don't have money and I'm gonna freeze to death 'cause I don't-'_

'Alright, enough, you big baby. Where are you?'

_'I don't know,'_ Booker whines again and Nile bangs her head against the fridge. 

'Just send me your location and stay there!' 

She grabs her wallet and the car keys, throws on the first jacket she can get her hands on (might be Quynh's) and deliberately ignores Andy's sing-sung _we keep telling you you're spoiling him!_

Twenty-five minutes later she parks outside what has to be the seediest bar in town. She can't spot Booker anywhere, so she calls him, praying with all her might he picks up so she doesn't have to go in and look for him. He doesn't. However, a couple of seconds later he opens the passenger door and grins widely at her. 

'Found them!' he announces triumphantly, sliding in the passenger seat and leaning in for a messy kiss that includes way more tongue action than she would've anticipated. 

By the time he pulls back to look at her with a sickly sweet smile, Joe and Nicky have already climbed in the back seat, both sporting identical dazed looks. 

'I hope this wasn't a ploy to get me to come get you,' she mutters seriously, making Booker look genuinely affronted. 

'No, the idiot actually thought we'd left without him,' Joe replies. 

His speech is also slurred and he sounds a bit out of breath, but that may also be because Nicky has latched himself to his neck, hands roaming freely over Joe's body. 

'Could you please keep it G-rated till we get home?' 

'Fine,' Nicky huffs, moving back to his side of the car. 

Meanwhile, Booker looks crestfallen, eyes wide and lower lip jutted out. Damn his acting skills, now she really feels bad for implying he had lied to her. 

'I'm sorry, sweetie, that was very mean of me,' she murmurs, stroking his hair. 'How can I make it up to you?' 

In a flash his expression shifts from dejected to overly ecstatic. 'McDonald's?' 

'Seb, it's the middle of the night, are you-' 

_'Pleeeeease!'_

Three loud howls - there's no other way to describe the noise - assault her ears and Nile lets her head fall on the steering wheel, accidentally honking in the process. 

'Call Andy and ask if they want anything,' she tells Booker defeatedly. 

_'We love you, Niiiile!'_ comes the triple howl again. 

'Yeah, yeah, whatever.' 

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on [Tumblr](https://energievie.tumblr.com/) in case you wanna say hi 😁💜


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